This invention relates to neckties, and more particularly, to neckties in which a different pattern is formed on the display portion of the necktie than the knot area.
Neckties are usually constructed from woven fabrics that have warp and weft threads making up the structure of the cloth. Neckties withstand the repeated tying and untying to which they are subject better, and retain an attractive drape, if they are cut on a bias, whereby the warp becomes neither vertical nor horizontal when the tie is worn, but assumes an oblique angle in the draped portion of the tie. Many neckties have a decorative figure woven into, or printed on, the fabric in a pattern that repeats consistently in the draped display that hangs in front of the wearer, below the knot. At the knot, however, the decorative pattern is broken since the pattern is rotated 90 degrees in the knot; thus, stripes which are horizontal in the drape tend to be vertical in the knot and vice versa.
The fabric of some neckties has a solid color, while other neckties utilize a fabric having a 360-degree symmetrical pattern or a paisley pattern. For these types of neckties, the knot has the same pattern orientation as the draped display. In addition, some ties utilize a variety of different colors therein in the patterns thereof. For the single color fabric, the color of clothing with which the tie may be worn may be limited, whereas the tie of multiple colors may be worn with various different colors of clothing. However, even with the multi-colored neckties, some colors are more predominant than others and only the most predominant are commonly matched with other clothing.
In prior art neckties the knot does not have the conventional pattern found with a necktie having the same pattern throughout. For example, French Patent 968,599 to Dumas, published Nov. 30, 1950, discloses a necktie knot having stripes in the same direction as the striped drape. A similar disclosure is contained in French Patent 1,365,488 to Martin, published May 25, 1964. In both of these patents, the tie is divided into two portions, resulting in the tail appearing different than the front. Thus, the conventional 90-degree pattern rotation found in a knot is replaced by a 180-degree rotation in the tail.
Other prior art neckties are made of various pieces, particularly in the neck area. For example, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 14,142 to Keys discloses a necktie having a silk strip in the area of the necktie that fits around the collar to permit easier sliding of the necktie to center the knot. A similar structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,621,336 to Rutenberg, which shows the lining exposed in the neck area. In both of these patents, the knot is not affected by the different material.
Other prior art ties are made of different materials for the front and back pieces to effectively permit one tie to appear as one of two different colors in a single unit. Such a tie may be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,004,490 to Lapham.
No prior art necktie, however, permitted any desired pattern to be present in the knot without affecting the remainder of the tie. What was needed was a necktie having a knot that could appear as stripes in the same direction as the body, or a knot having a contrasting or coordinating solid color relative to the remainder of the necktie, or even a necktie in which the pattern in the knot may be selectively changed by the user. My patent, which issued on Feb. 18, 1992, with U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,119 solved this problem. My patent is briefly described below with reference to the figures of the drawings.
FIG. 1 illustrates a display portion 11 of my patented necktie cut to a set pattern from a supply of fabric. FIG. 2 illustrates a knot portion 12 of my necktie, and FIG. 3 shows a tail portion 13. Both the knot portion 12 and the tail portion 13 have been cut from the same fabric. The fabric of the display portion 11 of FIG. 1 has its warp threads 14 sloping upwardly to the right. The same holds true for the warp threads 14 of the tail portion 13. However, in the knot portion 12, the pattern has been so cut from the fabric so that the warp 14 appears sloping upwardly toward the left. Thus, the angle 16 of the warp 14 from a line 17 marking the lengthwise direction of the display portion 11 differs by ninety degrees (90xc2x0) from an angle 18 between the warp 14 of the knot portion 12 and a line 19 marking its lengthwise direction. The equivalent angle 21 of the tail portion 13 is ninety degrees smaller than the angle 18.
FIG. 4 differs from FIGS. 2 and 3 in that the knot and tail portions are continuous to form a knot-tail portion 22. Thus, the angle 23 between the warp 14 of the knot-tail portion 22 and a line51 marking its lengthwise direction is the same as the angle 18 between the warp 14 of the knot portion 12 and the line 19.
Border strips 24, 26, 27, 28 mark the ends of the portions 11, 12, 13, and 22 that must be pieced together. The border strips 24, 26, 27, 28 are shown turned up in FIG. 5 and are sewn together by rows of stitching 29, 31. Adhesive bonding or stapling also can be used to connect the respective portions 11, 12, 13, 22. Lengthwise border strips 32, 33; 34, 36; 37, 38; 39, 41 are provided for sewing the edges of the pattern cuts together along fold lines 42, 43; 44, 46; 47, 48; 49, 51.
After the border strips 32, 34, 37 have been sewn to the respective strips 33, 36, 39, the assembly of the portions 11, 12, 13 are turned inside out in a conventional manner to complete a tie. Conventional steps of ironing and adding stiffening strips, facings, and linings can then be performed.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show various embodiments resulting from my patent. Specifically, in FIG. 6, the portions 11, 12, 13 have been sewn into a necktie having a design 52 including a succession of parallel, diagonal stripes. It can be seen in FIG. 6 that the stripes on the display portion 11 have the same orientation in both the formed knot 12 and the tail portion 13. In FIG. 7 a tie including portions 11 and 22 also continues the orientation of the draped display in the knot but the orientation of the stripes is reversed in the tail portion 22.
However, there are two disadvantages associated with my patented necktie. First, when three portions 11, 12, 13 are used to create a tie, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, two seams are produced. The manufacturing costs associated with connecting these two seams are substantial, when compared with the overall cost of a typical tie. Second, when two portions 11, 22 are used to create a tie, as shown in FIG. 7, only one seam is produced. However, when the formed knot is required to have the same orientation as the display portion 11, the displayed tail part of the knot-tail portion 22 is then oriented differently from the design of the display portion 11. Accordingly, there is a need to solve both these disadvantages and produce a tie that only requires one seam and that also easily permits the tail portion to be oriented in any way desired by the user.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a necktie and method of constructing a necktie that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices of this general type and that reduces the manufacturing steps and cost for producing a multi-pattern and/or multi-color necktie.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a necktie including a single-piece display-knot portion defining a display area and a knot area and having a knot joining edge, a single-piece tail portion having a tail joining edge joined to the knot joining edge. The display area has a given pattern, and the knot area has a pattern different from the given pattern.
Pattern, as used herein, includes not only the presence of markings and/or colors, but also the absence of both markings and colors. For example, a pattern can include a paisley design, diagonal stripes, and any single solid color. A pattern can also include the absence of any additional markings or colors to the fabric or material of the tie.
Because the features of the invention relate particularly to the display and knot portions of the tie, the invention can be used with clip-on ties and zipper ties, many of which only have knot and display portions and do not have neck or tail portions.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, a tail portion has the given pattern.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the display-knot portion has a given length, and the tail portion has a length substantially equal to the given length. Preferably, the display area has a length of approximately 51 cm, the knot area has a length of between 20 to 28 cm, particularly, 23 cm, and the tail portion has a length of approximately 74 cm.
In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the knot joining edge is sewn, glued, and/or stapled to the tail joining edge.
In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the display-knot portion is made from a fabric having warp threads oriented in a given direction, and the tail portion is made from a fabric having warp threads oriented in the given direction.
In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the display-knot portion and the tail portion are made from a woven fabric having a warp cut from a uniform supply of the fabric. Preferably, the warp of the tail portion is aligned with the warp of the display-knot portion.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a necktie including a single-piece tie defining a display area, a knot area, and a tail area. The display area has a first pattern, the knot area has a second pattern different from the first pattern, and the tail area has a third pattern. Preferably, the third pattern is the same as the first pattern.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a necktie including a single-piece display-knot portion defining a display area and a knot area, with the display area having a given pattern, and the knot area having a pattern different from the given pattern.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of cutting a display-knot portion from a single-piece of fabric having a given pattern and at least one pattern different from the given pattern. The display-knot portion defines a display area having the given pattern and a knot area having a pattern different from the given pattern. The display-knot portion has a knot joining edge. A tail portion having a tail joining edge is cut from a single-piece of fabric. The tail joining edge is joined to the knot joining edge to form a joined portion having long edges. The joined portion is folded lengthwise and is connecting together the long edges. Finally, the edge-connected joined portion is turned inside out.
In accordance with yet an additional mode of the invention, the fabric is a woven fabric. The method also includes weaving the given pattern and the different pattern in the woven fabric.
In accordance with again another mode of the invention, the given pattern and the different pattern are printed on the fabric. Preferably, the patterns are simultaneously printed on the fabric.
In accordance with again a further mode of the invention, the display-knot portion is cut to provide the knot area with a length of length of between 20 to 28 cm, particularly, 23 cm, and the display area with a length of approximately 51 cm, and the tail portion is cut to a length of approximately 74 cm. Preferably, the tail portion is cut to a length equal to the display-knot portion.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of cutting a tie from a single-piece of fabric having a given pattern and at least one pattern different from the given pattern, the tie having long edges and defining a display area having the given pattern and a knot area having a pattern different from the given pattern, folding the tie lengthwise and connecting together the long edges, and turning the edge-connected tie inside out.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of weaving a one-piece tie with long edges to produce a display area having a given pattern and a knot area having a pattern different from the given pattern, folding the tie lengthwise and connecting together the long edges, and turning the edge-connected tie inside out.
In accordance with again an added mode of the invention, there is provided the step of weaving the one-piece tie to produce a tail area having the given pattern.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of selecting fibers to weave a first pattern for a display part of a tie, changing the fibers to weave a second pattern for a knot part of the tie, and changing the fibers to weave a third pattern in a tail part of the tie, the display part, knot part, and tail part defining long edges, folding the tie lengthwise and connecting together the long edges, and turning the edge-connected tie inside out.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of producing a one-piece tie defining long edges, a display area, and a knot area, printing a given pattern at the display area, printing a pattern different from the given pattern at the knot area, folding the tie lengthwise and connecting together the long edges, and turning the edge-connected tie inside out.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of producing a one-piece tie defining long edges, a display area, and a knot area, printing a given pattern at the display area, printing a pattern different from the given pattern at the knot area, folding the tie lengthwise and connecting together the long edges, and turning the edge-connected tie inside out.
With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of constructing a necktie including the steps of producing a one-piece tie defining long edges, a display area, a knot area, and a tail area, simultaneously printing a first pattern at the display area, a pattern different from the first pattern at the knot area, and a second pattern at the tail area, folding the tie lengthwise and connecting together the long edges, and turning the edge-connected tie inside out.
Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a necktie and method of constructing a necktie, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.